Promise Me
by crystallica81
Summary: They both had wishes, and secretly they were both afraid to carry them out. An unlikely friendship and a few secrets brought the magical girl and the thief together. But in the end, will one promise between the two of them change everything they once had? Please comment! FlynnXRapunzel.
1. Prologue

_Flynn_

I pushed open the swinging doors of the Snuggly Duckling and walked confidently in. I pushed up the sleeves on my shirt, revealing my forearms, and looked around. I had always felt comfortable here in a rough-guy tavern like this, full of murderers, wanted thiefs—like me—and pirates taking rest from open-sea travel.

"Are you Flynn Rider?" growled a nasal voice from behind me.

I turned, and a thin man cloaked in sat there at a small table black, two mugs of cold ale sitting before him.

I lowered my voice. "Yes. And you are…?"  
>"Gray," he whispered.<p>

"Gray?"  
>"Just Gray," the old man whispered back. And true to his name, his arms and face were ashy, and his hair was stringy and gray, drooping low over his wrinkled forehead. I made a face as I took a seat across from him.<p>

He shoved a mug of ale at me. "Drink, Rider."  
>I looked down at the cloudy liquid. "No thanks."<br>Gray coughed. "You better sample it, boy. I already paid for it in what little I had. Either drink up, or pay me."  
>I took a deep breath and took a tiny swallow of the ale. It was cold and slimy, and I wondered if Gray had poisoned it. Hopefully not. Deciding to take my chances, I downed the whole thing, and then beckoned over a waiter for a refill.<p>

Gray smiled. "I knew you'd like it, Rider."  
>"Why did you invite me here?" I asked him, wanting to cut to the chase. Weeks before, running from the royal guards after stealing a golden chalice for the Stabbington Brothers, I had split from them and traveled deep into the woods, where there was a letter lying in the middle of the path like it was meant for me.<p>

It only had a few words, but it was enough to get my attention: 

_In dire need of money?  
>Come to the Snuggly Duckling on Tuesday at around midnight. I'll be wearing a black cloak. Write your name below and slip this into the hollow tree directly before you. <em>

And I had.

This small man didn't look rich. He looked like a homeless man.

"Where's the money I was promised?" I demanded, feeling the dagger at my belt. I wasn't afraid to use it, in case the old man was a fraud.

"I didn't promise you any money," said Gray in a calm voice. I tensed, a muscle twitching in my cheek. I felt the sharp edge of the dagger, and the surly waiter brought a new mug of ale to me. I took a swallow. "What do you mean you didn't promise me any money?"  
>I reached for the satchel that hung around my shoulder. I pulled out the letter and shoved it at him, stabbing my finger at the crude writing on it.<p>

Gray simply pushed the paper and my hand away. "I know what was written," he said scornfully. "I wrote it, boy."  
>My anger was building up. "You're a liar," I snarled, standing up. "Get out of my sight."<br>"Hold your temper, Rider," snapped Gray. "I have the money, so settle down. I was jus' playing with you, boy."  
>I sucked in air. Geezers like these drove me crazy. I sat down carefully, drinking more ale. Gray pulled out a small brown bag and jiggled it. The sound of coins clanging together inside was music to my ears. The deepest wish of my heart was just to have money. Enough money to travel to the orphanage in the kingdom of Highmeadow where I was brought up and bribe the matron, ask her about where I was from, who I was.<p>

I reached for the bag, my fingers skimming the rough burlap fabric, and the Gray snatched it back.

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing?"  
>"You didn't think I was just gonna sit here and give away moneybags for free, did you?" Gray demanded.<p>

I colored. That was exactly what I had thought.

"You have to do a little something for me first," whispered Gray. He put the moneybag back inside his cloak. He leaned forward, over his ale mug. "I want something. A prize. You get that for me, and I'll give you fifty times the gold coins that was in this tiny bag."  
>I swallowed. That was what I needed.<p>

I tilted my head. "How will I know you'll keep your promise?" I demanded.

Gray held up his right hand. "I give you my word, boy."  
>I shook my head. "That's not enough. I want a blood promise."<br>To thieves and pirates and murderers and bad people like me, a blood promise was one of the biggest things. You cut yourself and rubbed your blood onto the paper to make the promise official.

Gray sighed. "You know your ways, Rider," he said calmly. "I'll make a blood promise."  
>I nodded, satisfied.<p>

"And you too."  
>I was taken aback. "Me?"<br>"How will I know you won't just run off with the prize? You've got to promise too!" cried Gray, his ashy fingers twisting together like tumbleweed on the table's surface.

I gave in. "Fine."  
>I shoved the letter at Gray and handed him my dagger. Gray neatly sliced his palm and rubbed some blood onto the paper. "I promise," he said. "You bring me the prize, I'll give you fifty times what was in that money bag."<br>I nodded. Gray removed a piece of yellowed paper from the far reaches of his cloak and gave it to me, along with a pen borrowed from the matron of the tavern. "Write your promise and seal it," he told me, his dark eyes flickering impatiently from his sunken, wrinkled face.

_I promise to bring you the prize you desire, as long as you give me the money you promised. _

I shoved it at him.

"Good," said Gray. "Now the seal."  
>I cut my palm and placed it against the paper. A red smudge blended against the crinkly yellow color. I shoved it at Gray, my palm smarting and stinging. I stood and ran it under a leaky tap that was flooding water into a plastic red bucket.<p>

That stung even more, but washed the blood away. I closed my hand into a fist and rolled my sleeves back down. "What's the prize?" I asked Gray, who was pulling his hood up over his thin face again.

He smiled, and I noticed he was missing several teeth. "Glad you asked, Rider," he told me. "An…._acquaintance _told me of her."  
>"An acquaintance."<br>"Her name is Gothel. I met her in this tavern the other day, and we were drinking. She was drunk, and told me about her rebellious daughter. A daughter with certain magical qualities about her."  
>"Magical…qualities." I was getting more and more doubtful of this old man's sanity.<p>

"Magic hair that glows. When she sings," Gray told me with a grin.

I sighed. "Okay. So the _girl _is the prize?"  
>"Yes."<br>"What?!" I yelled.

Gray looked taken aback. "The girl is the prize. Her hair is worth a lot of money."

"Her _hair_? So cut it?"  
>Gray smiled. "Yes, but the girl is also valuable. I heard she's….beautiful…do you get my meaning? I want to raise her. I want her to be <em>mine<em>."  
>Gray's eyes gleamed.<p>

I was taken aback. "I don't think this is the right thing to do."  
>"You're a thief aren't you?" snarled Gray. "So do what I ask! Besides, you promised with your blood."<p>

I shook my head. "How the hell do you want me to bring her to you?"  
>"Anyway you want," said Gray, standing. "That's the fun of it, Rider."<p>

"Can I have a picture or something?" I asked.

Gray shrugged. "Gothel didn't have a picture. But she said she was eighteen, with long blonde hair, big green eyes, and freckles on her nose. And she paints."  
>I shook my head. "How will I find her?"<br>Gray grinned. "That part is up to you, Rider."

Was I ready for this?  
>I walked to the Snuggly Duckling doors and pushed them open slowly, staring out at the moonlit night. I think I was. I needed the money anyway.<p>

And she was a strange girl I had never even met. Why would it matter to me what happened to her?  
>I walked into the night.<p>

A magical girl who's hair glows. When she sings.

Boy, was I gonna have fun now.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So…hi everybody! This is my first Tangled fanfic, and I'm excited to be writing one at last. I mean, I've wanted to, but I've never had good ideas. But I think I **_**might **_**be on the verge of one. So any extra ideas from the viewers will be GREATLY appreciated. If you could, that would be awesome, and I'd be SO grateful to you. Please comment! I really need encouragement on this story so any reviews will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!**

_RAPUNZEL_

"And—and I _told him_, Rapunzel! But I didn't mean to, darling! Because I was drinking, drinking, drinking. Drowning in my drink. And he—that idiot _bast_—"

"Mother," warned Rapunzel, holding a cup of tea towards Gothel. "It's gonna be okay."

Gothel put her head down on the table, wary. "Oh, please, Rapunzel. I've put our life in jeopardy."

"Drink," Rapunzel ordered.

Gothel accepted the hot tea. "Oh, dear," she said to Rapunzel, smoothing her hair. "What would I do without you?"

Rapunzel smiled proudly, sitting down on a nearby chair. "So—Mother! What exactly did you say you told the old man at the tavern?"

"Oh!" Gothel sprung back up again, spilling half the tea over her embroidered crimson red skirt.

Rapunzel put her head in her hands.

"I told that man about you. About your beautiful long hair. Where we live. Our location."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Are you such an idiot, dear?" Gothel exclaimed, clinking the cup down hard. "Our location is meant to be a secret, darling, so no outsiders will get in. You know how they are, Rapunzel. I've told you about them. About the tortures they do to angelic little girls like you."

"Mother, I'm eighteen," Rapunzel insisted. "I'm not afraid!"

Gothel sighed. "Yes, Rapunzel, but I've seen the barbarians in action and I'm afraid for you. Tell me, dear. Tell me what they will do to you. The ruffians and thugs."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Take my innocence away."

Gothel nodded. "You can get a lot of stolen items back. Books, hairbrushes, gowns. But not your innocence. Not your little-girl mind, not your heart."

Rapunzel clutched her chest. "They'd take my heart?"

Gothel didn't reply, just stood up, as if she'd made a point. "And that old man could be dangerous Rapunzel! Half of the people in that tavern were murderers! And thieves! And…bad people, that's who!"

Rapunzel raised her thin blonde eyebrows. "Why were you in there, Mother?"

Gothel blushed for a brief moment. But she brushed it off like she did most of Rapunzel's comments and stood up, wiping off her skirt. "Oh, yuck," she sighed. "Stained with tea. Brilliant, aren't I? Rapunzel, be a dear and please fetch me another gown from my closet."

Rapunzel stood and went. Servant girl or daughter? She wasn't sure herself.

"Rapunzel, dear!" Gothel yelled from the front room. "I'm going into town to see a friend. Ask her if she's heard any news of that old man."

Rapunzel appeared in the doorway. "Okay, Mother."

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, I promise!" Gothel said tenderly, kissing Rapunzel on the forehead. "Go to sleep right after dinner, okay?"

"Of course, Mother."

Gothel beamed. "There's a good girl!"

Rapunzel let her hair down for Gothel to climb. There was that brief pulling, and the pain that started at her scalp, but she had gotten used to it.

"See you tomorrow!" Gothel called up. "Stay in the tower!"  
>She had vanished into the bushes. Rapunzel looked at the fading light of the sky and began slowly reeling her long 40 feet of blonde hair back into the tower.<p>

"Do I have a choice?"

LATER

The stars were shining above. Rapunzel sat on her little shelf high up at the almost top of the tower and squinted out of a round window, a brush and a box of paints in her hands.

Something nudged her leg. Underneath her skirts, a little green chameleon was sitting, looking annoyed.

"Pascal, come look at this!" Rapunzel commanded. "Look at all the stars! I'm trying to find the North Star so I can paint it on my wall mural. Help me out here."  
>Pascal climbed onto the sloping windowsill and jabbed his little green hand at the North Star. It was shining brightly, and Rapunzel smiled, her eyes reflecting it.<p>

With a gasp of delight, she dipped her brush in white and painted the North Star.

Every inch of her walls were practically covered in paintings. The proof of my boredom, Rapunzel referred to them as.

At least, that's what she'd call them if she ever gave a friend a tour of her tower. But she had no friends, besides Pascal.

"What do you want to do?" Rapunzel asked Pascal, swinging the window shut, closing her box of paints and swinging her legs off the shelf.

Pascal pointed out the big window.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "No."  
>Pascal arched his thick green eyebrows, as if asking why.<p>

"My innocence, that's why!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "Don't you listen to anything Mother says?"  
>Rapunzel swung off the ledge, her hair carrying her. She let her bare feet touch the ground and turned back to Pascal, nestled on her shoulder.<p>

"Let's bounce on the bed!" Rapunzel suggested.

Pascal shook his head.

"Let's…read a book!"  
>Pascal shook his head.<p>

Rapunzel stuck out her lower lip. "Oookay. Let's…play hide and seek!"  
>Pascal shook his head rapidly, shrinking back into Rapunzel's dress, turning light violet, the shade of her gown.<p>

Rapunzel laughed. "Alright, Pascal. Let's paint."  
>Pascal looked questioningly at the walls. Another no.<p>

Rapunzel sighed. "I don't know. I'm at a loss for ideas."  
>Pascal smiled. He skittered under Rapunzels' bed and came out dragging a piece of paper in his mouth. Gesturing with his hands, he began to talk to Rapunzel in a series of odd grunting noises.<p>

Rapunzel nodded. "Uh-huh."  
>Pascal kept talking.<p>

Rapunzel nodded. "That sounds cool. Let's try!"

Rapunzel tore the piece of paper in half and picked up a brush. "Okay, Pascal," she said to the stubborn chameleon. "Let's go through the plan again. I write yes on one side and no on the other side?"  
>Pascal nodded.<p>

"Then I crumple it up, mix it up in a bag, and draw one out, and if I get yes we leave the tower."  
>Pascal waved his hands.<p>

Rapunzel continued. "And if I get no, we stay."  
>Pascal nodded again.<p>

Rapunzel bit her lip. "Let's try it. But what if we get yes, Pascal? We're really taking a risk here."  
>Pascal shrugged, waving his hands. <em>Get on with it. <em>

Rapunzel wrote YES and NO really big and then crumpled up the paper.

She pulled an old cowgirl hat of hers off from the peg above her bed, and mixed up the two pieces of paper inside it. She shut her eyes tight and put her fingers inside.

Pascal climbed onto her head, leaning over.

Rapunzel opened one green eye slightly.

Pascal slid down her face and closed it with his slimy hand.

Rapunzel sighed. "Okay, okay!" She shut her eyes tightly and pulled out a crumpled ball of paper. Carefully, she unwrapped it, setting Pascal on the ground.

Her eyes scanned the paper and then let out a breath of relief. "Hah!" she said to Pascal.

Pascal raised an eyebrow warily.

"No," said Rapunzel.

Pascal raised his other eyebrow and gestured.

Rapunzel hid the paper behind her back. "What? You think I'm _lying_?"  
>Pascal nodded.<p>

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "Pff. That's stupid. Why would I lie?"  
>Pascal's eyes were wide. <em>Because you're scared. <em>

Rapunzel looked down at her lap, and shoved the paper at him. "I lied. It was yes."  
>Pascal grinned and jerked his head towards the window. Rapunzel stood, put Pascal on her shoulder and walked towards the window. "I don't want to, Pascal," she whispered.<p>

Pascal looked seriously at her and began to talk.

_Look, Rapunzel. The world out there might seem big and bad to you, but not all people are. I mean, obviously. Gothel isn't—and she's from Outside. _

"Mother makes me feel like the whole world is one big tavern of murderers," Rapunzel whispered, shaking.

_Would you calm down? Let's have a trial. We go out, see if the world's bad. If it is, we come back here. If not, we stay. _

"Like, forever?" Rapunzel whispered.

Pascal rolled his eyes dismissively. _Of course not. For a little longer. _

"But Mother will be back tomorrow afternoon."  
><em>We'll beat her back here. <em>

"Really?" Rapunzel asked doubtfully.

_I promise_, said Pascal earnestly.

Rapunzel sighed. "I'm a bird in a tower that wants to be free," she told Pascal. "I'm a timid little sparrow, living in her tree."

_You can choose to be a sparrow, _Pascal said seriously. _Or you can be a phoenix, rising from the flames to start a new life. _

"Don't preach," Rapunzel sighed. "I'm just a sparrow. But do you think I'll ever be a phoenix?"  
><em>If you wanted to be, you could. <em>

Rapunzel took a deep breath and looked down at the ground.

_Ready_? Pascal asked.

Rapunzel nodded. "On the count of three."

_You start_.

Rapunzel swung her hair through the hook at the top, preparing for the immense breathtaking fall. "One."  
><em>Two. <em>

"Oooh, Pascal!" squealed Rapunzel. "I can't do this!" She stared down at the ground and then at Pascal's impatient face. _Two_, he repeated.

Rapunzel closed her eyes. "Three."

_FLYNN_

Flynn was totally lost.

He had no idea how to start the mission, where to begin the search for Gray's mystery girl.

He sat on the stone edge of a fountain. He looked up at it. A naked stone mermaid and a naked stone merman, hugging, their tails entwining.

Love.

Flynn rolled his eyes. He had no need for love right now. What he wanted to have right now was money. A middle-aged woman with curly black hair and pale skin sat down next to him with her blonde haired townswoman friend.

"I can't believe I told that simpering old man about her," the black haired woman was saying.

"There, there, Gothel," said the blonde lady.

Flynn perked up. Gothel? Gray had mentioned that name. The girl's mother was Gothel. Gothel must live with the girl. The magic girl.

Flynn grinned.

He began to listen to their conversation.

"So what now?" Gothel asked hopelessly.

"If the old man finds out," the blonde woman was saying. "The girl's magic powers might belong to him. And you know what would happen to you?"  
>Gothel was silent.<p>

"You'd be—"

"_Don't_!" hissed Gothel behind him. Flynn didn't dare turn. "Forget that, Kathleen," said Gothel calmly from behind him. "I'll find a secret location for us when I return to the tower tomorrow."  
>"No one else must know about the magic qualities of her hair." Said Kathleen.<p>

"Right." Said Gothel. "Now. About an inn."  
>"There's an inn nearby," announced Kathleen. "We can stay there. And in the morning, we can split. I will return to the town to search for the old man you described. You'll return to the tower to tell the girl of your plans."<p>

Gothel nodded.

Both stood and left.

Flynn grinned. This was too easy.

LATER 

At Monarch Inn, Gothel and Kathleen paid for separate rooms, and Flynn paid for one near theirs not long after they had checked in.

With his last couple of coins he bought a room and went in.

It was plain, with wood flooring, creaky doors, a knotty pine dresser, and the whole room smelled like the kingdom's chief export: maple syrup.

Flynn laid down on the bed and decided to take a well-deserved rest.

After all, he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a long time.

Maybe tomorrow, he'd be a rich man.


End file.
